Heat-shrinkable films formed of polyvinyl chloride or polystyrene have been extensively used as a shrinkable film for labeling bottles. Such conventional heat-shrinkable films, however, have problems in that a polyvinyl chloride film generates chlorine-based gas when burned and a polystyrene film has poor printability. Also, in recycling PET bottles, non-PET labels have to be removed therefrom in advance. To solve such problems, there have been developed heat-shrinkable polyester films.
A glass bottle labeled with a heat-shrinkable film, on the other hand, is difficult to recycle because individual or business consumers must remove labels before recycling, or a label remover must be employed. Therefore, glass bottles have been commonly labeled with a paper label which can be easily removed from the bottle by washing.
Recently, a label for glass bottles which is prepared by die-cutting a uniaxially heat-shrinkable film after printing and coating has been developed. Such heat-shrinkable adhesive label can be easily removed from a glass bottle due to its shrinking property by washing with hot water.
However, the conventional heat-shrinkable label prepared using uniaxially film has the problems of a poor die-cutting property and an unsatisfactory removal rate from a glass bottle.